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Using ATM with ThinkorSwim account

11-16-2018, 12:08 PM

I am trying to use an ATM Strategy when trading my Thinkorswim account with Ninjatrader 8. None of the tutorials have examples of STOCK trades only FUTURES. What happens is the as soon as I enter a trade it immediately executes the Stop Loss or Profit target (I cannot tell which it is).

I have attached a screenshot of the ATM Strategy parameters that I am attempting to use. Also, note that I am doing this in Sim mode as a test before going Live.

Comment

Thanks for the prompt reply. I am not sure what to look for, but here are screenshots of the Orders and Log tabs. As you can see from the time stamps the closeouts were almost instantaneous as if I met the targets. Did I set the Parameters incorrectly? I was using Penny increments.

Comment

That is what I was trying to say in the original post. All of the examples of how to create an ATM Strategy talk about Futures and not Stocks. Please look at my ATM Strategy parameters to see if I have entered the data correctly. If not, what should it be to have a $0.50 Stop Loss and Targets of $0.75 and $1.50?

If I have entered the data correctly, does NT8's ATM work with ThinkorSwim in Sim mode?

Comment

I don't see anything specifically wrong with your settings. You should note that the "Currency" type for stop loss is calculated by the dollar per tick value for the order quantity used. It is possible that the tick value is not what you expect, and you need to set a higher value for the "Currency" type.

Comment

Yes, I went thru the tutorials before posting my original help request; however, none of the tutorials that I saw have examples of STOCK trades only FUTURES. Can you explain what you mean by TICK VALUE when I am trading Stocks vs Futures? Also, I did try to trade SDS using an ATM, but I got these error messages (see attached). It appears that I can enter Targets and Stops manually without any issues.

Comment

The difference between Stocks and Futures Tick values is not something I know about. To my knowledge it has to do with the size of the asset being traded, not the type of asset. To look at the Tick value of a specific instrument you will need to search for it.https://ninjatrader.com/support/help...nstruments.htm

These errors are directly related to the values set for Parameter type and Quantity. You are going to need a much larger number for the Stop Loss if you want to use the Currency Parameter type and have a quantity of 200 contracts. I suggest starting with a single contract and then increasing the quantity as you test, so that you can get an idea of how to set the stop loss.

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